Love, War, and its Aftermath
by NCISthemedname
Summary: The war is over. Voldemort is gone. The Death Eaters are spread out. With Hermione and Ginny returning to school, it's up to Harry, Ron, and Neville, the newest and most experienced Aurors, to find the DEs and defeat them. Will Ginny and Harry last?
1. Chapter 1

**I apologize about the confusion! The longer version is my personal soundboard but unfortunately I had that and the first chapter labeled the same and got them mixed up. So you all now know what's happening next unless I feel like changing it. :S**

**I do not own Harry Potter who belongs to JKR, as to all his friends, foes, family, and so on. **

It seemed so surreal. Just two months ago, Harry had defeated Voldemort, saved Hogwarts and the rest of the Wizarding world. Just a month ago, he had been offered the position of Auror by Kingsley Shacklebolt, the new Minister of Magic, to help find the remaining Death Eaters, the ones who had fled after the battle, too swift for the Ministry to catch in all the excitement, mourning, and mayhem. Yet here he was, going down the stairs at the Burrow as if none of this had happened, none of this had any affect to him.

Harry looked down and hastily started buttoning up the rest of his shirt before he reached the kitchen or saw any of the Weasleys. Well, except Ginny but he wouldn't see her yet. Just a few more minutes… He finished the last button just as he stepped into the familiar scene. Ron and Hermione were talking to Bill and Fleur, George scribbling on long pieces of parchment, and Mrs. Weasley bustling around, getting breakfast ready or was it lunch? Harry had lost track of time. He needed to find his watch soon.

Ron looked up and saw Harry. His face didn't seem to register anything odd with Harry's appearance or timeliness as he beckond Harry over to their conversation.

"…Luicius and Narcissa both handed themselves over without a fight once the Ministry caught up with them. Apparently, they were going to all along but needed to stall so they could change all their possessions to Draco's name. Once the Ministry found them, in their own manor, mind you, they immediately admitted to being in league with You-Know-Who for a very long time." Bill said as Harry reached their conversation.

"Bill, Voldemort is dead and gone now. This 'You-Know-Who' and 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named' business needs to be put to rest. There's nothing to be afraid of." Harry said, somewhat with a chuckle. He couldn't imagine having to unlearn fearing someone for all of their lives. Harry never feared Voldemort much and didn't grow up with the fear.

Bill was unable to respond before Ginny entered the room. Harry glanced up at her. She was so beautiful. She almost had a magical glow to her any time Harry looked at her. He grinned at her…until he saw what she was wearing. A blue hand knitted sweater with an 'H' stitched in gold, which was plainly much too big for her. Harry almost panicked. If anyone saw it, they would assume….well, they would assume too far but Harry didn't want Ron to explode at him. Harry hurried over as casually as he could so as not to arouse suspicion. He bent down to give her his usual good morning hug and kiss while whispering in her ear, "Why are you wearing my sweater? Do you want us to be caught? Your mother would kill me if your brothers didn't first."

Ginny pushed away from Harry just so much as to see the sweater. She gasped quietly. "Oh, Harry, I'm sorry! There wasn't much light in my room and I guess I just thought it was one of my purple sweaters. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was putting on. Stall and I'll try to go change into my own sweater." She turned to go back up the stairs to her room when Mrs. Weasley called her name. Ginny froze, the gears in her mind trying to think of a way to back out of whatever Mrs. Weasley was going to ask or on how to hide the fact she had possession of Harry's sweater.

"Ginny, didn't you hear me?" Mrs. Weasley asked, slightly irritated.

"Yes, Mum? Sorry, no I didn't hear you." Ginny said as sheepishly as she could manage without a residue of guilt in her voice.

"Come here and help me with the dishes. They are overflowing and I can't keep up, what with trying to cook for everyone else and figuring out Bill's new appetite." She threw an agitated look at Fleur, as if it was her fault she was laden with so much work. Fleur took no notice and continued to listen to Bill, Ron, and Hermione.

"Why can't Hermione or Ron? They can use magic outside of school and it would be faster than if I did it by hand." Ginny pointed out while trying to hide behind Harry casually and inching up the stairs. "Besides, I forgot something upstairs." She took another step up.

"Nonsense. Ron and Hermione are talking to Bill about important things. You can help, don't worry. The time will be fine. Besides, you can talk to me while you work." She turned around and smiled sweetly at the sight of Ginny hiding behind Harry with her arms on his shoulders and her toes barely touching the steps as if she was doing this on purpose to arouse Harry.

"Mrs. Weasley, I can help if Ginny needs to go and get what she needs. It's no problem for me. Ron can just tell me later." Hermione said and she made to get up from the table to help.

"No, no," Mrs. Weasley chuckled, "You go back to your conversation. Ginny _will_ help me." Her look at Ginny turned stern. It was her final word.

Ginny inched around Harry to continue formulating a plan or lie on why she was in Harry's sweater. Harry just hoped no one noticed as the blue in his sweater was close to the purple in hers. Ginny crossed her arms across her chest and hid the 'H' as she sped up to get the job done with. Mrs. Weasley started to turn around towards Ginny when Harry almost ran across the room in between mother and daughter.

"Mrs. Weasley, would you mind- would you mind to teach me how to cook as you do? You know that, er, Ron and I will be moving out soon and, well, delights of home and all." Harry blurted out. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny let out a sigh of relief and a small smile as she began to wash dishes at top speed. Mrs. Weasley smiled at Harry and said, "Not at all, Harry. But remember, nothing can top a mother's expertise." She laughed and began showing Harry her techniques. Harry began to feel confident that he and Ginny would be able to get out of this situation 'unscathed.' He actually listened as Mrs. Weasley taught him how she made her delicious meals with magic.

"Oy! What's that?" Ron yelled as Ginny made her way towards the stairs, dishes done.

"What's what, Ron?" Ginny asked with the blazen look in her eye. Harry, on the other hand, could see her panic as they both feared the worst. Ginny crossed her arms across her chest and turned a little more towards her older brother, attempting to show no fear.

"That sweater! That's not yours. Yours are purple. Whose are blue?" Ron's ears began turning pink as Ginny's face did the same, for different reasons.

"Mine. Mom changed my color last Christmas as the shop ran out of purple yarn." Ginny lied, unconvincingly. Harry panicked too. He started thinking fast.

"No, I didn't, dear." Mrs. Weasley piped up, wiping her hands on her tea towel and turned towards the commotion. "Yours are purple. I always get enough yarn before the holidays so I can get all your sweaters and socks done in time." She stood, thinking for a moment. "Harry, dear, aren't your sweaters blue?" Ginny made a move to contradict her mother but nothing came out of her mouth.

"Yes, Mrs. Weasley. But I lent my sweater to Ginny last night as she couldn't find hers and she said she was chilly." Harry hated lying boldfaced to Mrs. Weasley. This wasn't exactly a lie but by exclusion, it wasn't the truth either. After a few seconds, he could tell that Mrs. Weasley bought his story. She smiled at him then turned to Ginny.

"Well, dear, I hope you find your sweater soon. Harry moves out next week and I'm sure he'll want it back before all the hubbub. Dear me, only I know so well the confusion when moving out, especially moving out two at the same time." She glanced at Ron. So did Harry. He could tell that Ron did not buy the story as he glared at Ginny who was looking at Harry. However, it wasn't Ron who spoke up.

"But, I thought that Ginny had her sweater on last night when we were having dinner." Fleur looked positively confused. Harry played on her confusion.

"Yeah, she did but," He glanced at Ginny, uncertain. Ginny stared at him wide-eyed, dependent upon him as she was frozen, "she took it off afterwards. You know how hot it gets in here with everyone and all the cooking. I think she, er, put it down and now, well, she can't find it."

Harry was very nervous about this portion of the story. Would she believe it? More importantly, would Ginny's brothers? Hermione gave Harry one of her knowing looks. However, this time, Harry knew, she knew something what wasn't completely true. Just mostly. Fleur looked content and gave a small nod. She turned back to Bill and began playing with his long hair, gazing lovingly at his mangled face. Harry glanced at Ginny. Ginny stared back. After a few seconds, Ginny made her way towards the stairs without another glance back to anyone. Harry stared at the stairs until her footsteps became faint. Harry gave a quick look around the room then made his way to the door, not looking directly at anyone. He wrenched the door open a little too roughly and walked out set on not talking to anyone until his paranoia and embarrassment passed. It didn't last. Running footsteps approached and Harry sped up, hoping whoever it was couldn't catch up and would then give up. They didn't. A few seconds later, a head of bushy brown hair was flung into Harry's view and a hand slapped his chest to stop him. Hermione, shorter than he and Ron, always had a hard time keeping up with either of them unless she was upset. She stood gasping and clutching a stitch in her side for almost a minute. Harry suppressed a laugh. Once she regained her breathing, she looked Harry straight in the face and spoke.

"Why did Ginny really have your sweater, Harry? Her sweater is on the sofa in the living room where she left it last night." Hermione gave Harry a stern look. He looked away. The hills around the Burrow were also so beautiful to Harry during the summer time. He began to walk, slower this time, around the yard. Hermione followed.

"First of all, it's not what you think." Harry said, slowly. He didn't know whether to tell Hermione the whole truth as she was dating Ron now. Would she tell? He wasn't certain but he felt like he was going to tell her one way or another. He sighed. "Ginny and I were out here talking and she really did get cold. I handed her my sweater and we continued on. When we went inside, we forgot about her sweater and went up to her room." He didn't look at Hermione at this. Harry could feel himself turning red and looked out towards where the Lovegoods lived. He almost forgot what he was saying as he thought back to what had happened at that house, how Luna's father betrayed them to get her back from the Death Eaters. Hermione was not going to be swayed. "Harry!" She snapped her fingers to bring him back.

"Wha- oh, right. Ginny. Anyway, so we went up to her room and, er, talked for a while. We were talking about how I'm not going back to finish school. I don't really need it. I'm already an Auror, sort of, and that if I prove myself to Kinglsey, then I'll make it for sure. Besides, without Dumbledore there and Slughorn as Potions Master, it's not really worth going back. Yeah, anyway, then, well, she kinda, er, kissed me and said it didn't matter to her because she'd still get to see me. Then we kissed for awhile." Harry hesitated. Hermione had been silent, too silent, and had not been looking at Harry. For this, he was thankful. He was sure he was a very dark shade of scarlet and it wasn't going to lighten anytime soon. He wasn't finished with his tale. "Anyway, I don't know how long it had been, doesn't matter, and we started undoing clothing." At this, Hermione interrupted.

"Harry James Potter, do NOT tell me you had sex with Ginny!" She had a very striking resemblance to Mrs. Weasley with her hands on her hips and a looks of shock and anger on her face. Harry had the fleeting thought that Ron would never be able to escape his mother if he married Hermione. "She's only sixteen and she's still in school! I know that you aren't –"

"No! See, this is why I said 'it's not what you think'! Hermione, let me finish, please? Then you can lecture me about what _actually _happened. Well, it continued for a while. It wasn't quick removal or anything. But before we were completely naked, I stopped. I told Ginny I couldn't do it. Not that I didn't want to or anything but, well, like you said, she's only sixteen, although almost seventeen, and still in school. What if something happened? I'm already raising Teddy with Andromeda's help and I don't want another child right now, even if it is Ginny's. Also, I just fought a war to stay alive from Voldemort. I really don't want to be taken out by Ginny's brothers or her parents, not after all they've done for me." Hermione glared at Harry for his war joke but he ignored it and pressed on. "She was a little upset but she understood. She agreed too that it wasn't the best time. She even hinted that we may not actually end up together once we spend more time together. I told her she was raving." He sighed. "Hermione, it's not that I don't like Ginny because I don't. I -" Hermione gasped at this and opened her mouth to say something. Harry cut across her and stared right at her. "I love her." Hermione stared wide eyed at Harry, shocked.

Silence lapsed for what seemed like an eternity. Harry decided to finish while she was silent.

"We just continued to talk for awhile until we fell asleep. I'm sorry we locked you out of your sleeping space for the night. It won't happen again. We agreed this morning to come down at separate times, even though you and Ron didn't know where we were, we didn't want to alert the rest of her family and make them assume the same as you did. Well, that was, until Ginny came down in my sweater. You know, I think in the time it took for Ginny and I to try and convince you lot that I had lent my sweater to her, I was more afraid of Ron and Mrs. Weasley than I ever had been of Voldemort or his Death Eaters?" He laughed.

Silence lapsed again between them. Hermione bit her lip as Harry watched a particularly wobbly gnome try to walk across the yard. He stared at it trying to understand why it was so tipsy. Before he could think of an excuse that made sense, Ron came striding out towards them. Hermione still had a look of worry on her face and as her back was to Ron, she didn't see him coming.

"Ron's coming." Harry muttered under his breath. Instantly, she rearranged her face into mild happiness.

"Hey, mum's wondering why you lot didn't come back for lunch. She saved you some for when you decided to return." Ron said as Hermione pecked him on the cheek and he returned it with a one armed hug, all the time looking at Harry. Harry didn't look back at him.

"Yeah, all right."

Ron looked at Hermione who didn't betray Harry with looks at Ron but merely shrugged.

"You alright, mate? You don't look great. What's up?" Ron sounded concerned. Harry looked at him and smiled.

"Nothing. Just, you know, we'll be moved out of the Burrow by this time next week. Just thinking about life from now on. Wondering what it'll be like with no school, no Dursleys, and almost no Hermione." He gave Hermione a small tap and a wink. She rolled her eyes at him and moved closer to Ron. "I mean, who's going to save our skins when we get into a spot of trouble? We can't write to Hermione about every trouble we have, can we? She'll never make it to class." At this, all three of them chuckled.

"Well, Fred and George did well on their own and George still does well. Maybe we can ask him for help when it's too trivial for Hermione." Ron had grimaced at Fred's name but otherwise was still in their light hearted joking manner. Hermione scoffed.

"You two will be fine without much help. Besides, your vacation ends the week after next. Kinglsey expects you two back on duty with Neville to hunt down those remaining Death Eaters soon. That is, if they haven't caught them all already." She glanced up at the two men with almost a convinced look. Ron and Harry looked at each other.

"Nah." They said together. Hermione rolled her eyes again.

"Well, while you stand out here convinced of your prowress," she emphasized 'convinved' rather too much as she turned back towards the Burrow, "I'm going to go help your mother and then talk to Ginny." She threw a look back at Harry. It was too brief for him to register well. Was she angry with him? Hadn't he said they had stopped before it go too serious? Harry stared at her until she had retreated into the house. Ron punched his shoulder, not all light but not very hard. Harry snapped to look at him.

"What was that for?" Harry swore. He had almost been toppled over in the surprise attack and didn't fancy a fall onto an old splintering fence directly behind him.

"That's for looking at my girlfriend." Ron laughed. "I'm still not used to that. Hermione, my girlfriend! You know how long I've been waiting to say that?" He looked off.

"About fourth year or something like that?" Harry muttered. He didn't want Ron to know that, although his suspicions strengthened in their sixth year, that he had already suspected them in their fourth. Ron didn't hear him. Harry was glad. Even though they were both comfortable in their separate relationships, Harry was still uncomfortable discussing Hermione and Ron. He had grown up seeing them as separate, his best friends and now he didn't know whether to distinguish them as his best friend's boyfriend or girlfriend or whether to distinguish them separately at all. He'd get used to it eventually but two months into their, at least public, relationship, he was still a bit on thin ice.

"Speaking of girlfriends," Ron said, rounding on Harry, "what about you and Ginny this morning? Why did she really have your sweater, mate? You best not be shagging my sister!" It had happened. Ron had seen the signs and didn't believe their stories that morning. He was about to explode. His ears were turning a dark shade of pink by the second, his brotherly instincts for his only sister kicking into overdrive as they had done for anytime Harry and Ginny had snogged in public during their sixth year. Harry tried to control his breathing so he wouldn't explode into the truth. Ron couldn't know the truth, not yet.

"It's what we said at breakfast, isn't it? What we said was the truth. She borrowed my sweater and then couldn't find her's. It's nothing. I-"

"You didn't come up to my room afterwards. And Ginny's door was locked. Hermione had to sleep in my room with me instead and couldn't get to her stuff. Harry – " Ron was almost purple around his ears.

"Nothing happened! Besides, I didn't know the door was locked! We were just talking and – hold on." Harry stopped dead in his tracks then looked up at Ron. "You were with Hermione. Where you shagging her? Because if you were – "

"What does it matter? You aren't her brother and you have no responsibility over her! We are both of age!" Ron's ears were now purple. His anger was beginning to mix with embarrassment.

"You did, didn't you? She's like my sister! So yeah, I do have responsibility over her! Neither of us have siblings like you do, Ron, so if you haven't noticed, we kinda have to take that for each other. What do – " Harry, although sounding angry, was amused. Ron had done it, hadn't he? He was right though. They were both of age and Hermione didn't have any brothers, other than Harry per se, to do anything against it. Ron was in the clear technically.

"No! Nothing happened. We just fell asleep….together." Ron looked away, lessening in his redness. Harry could have laughed.

"Well, if I had shagged Ginny, which I didn't mind you," he added as Ron glared at him, "and you shagged Hermione, which you say you didn't, then we'd be equal, wouldn't we? We would have supposedly shagged each other's sisters." Ron glowered at his feet and said nothing. Eventually, without looking at Harry, he nodded. "Good because nothing happened in either room, right?" Ron nodded again to his feet. Harry stared at Ron for a moment, watching the red and pink fade completely.

He turned towards the Burrow and walked off. He didn't know why this was so funny to him. Shouldn't he be furious if Ron had shagged Hermione? As he said, she was like his sister. However, it didn't infuriate him. It actually somewhat made him proud of Ron at the prospect. If it had happened, he would have in turn gotten over his nerves and gone for something risky. Hermione was still in school too like Ginny but was almost two years older. She was of age. Harry shook his head at this. It didn't matter to him. It was their business, not his. Although, Ginny was everyone's business. _Only a few more months,_ Harry told himself, _then she'll be of age. But it won't be for another year it could happen anyway. She won't be out of school until then._ Harry almost regretted dating Ginny for her age but then pushed that out of his head. Regretting Ginny because of her age? Preposterous. He loved Ginny, age and all. Loved. Love. The word 'love' made him stop every time. It wasn't that he was second-guessing his relationship with Ginny. It just made him remember Dumbledore and that he had told Harry frequently that the 'power the Dark Lord knew not' was the same emotion he felt for Ginny constantly, the one thing that stopped Voldemort in the end. Harry pushed open the door to the kitchen of the Burrow and almost walked right into Mr. Weasley.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley. I didn't think you'd be back home for hours. I wasn't – " Harry started. Mr. Weasley's face looked older and more tired that Harry had ever seen it before. He was suddenly worried. "Mr. Weasley, has something happened at the Ministry?"

"No, Harry, not at the Ministry." Mr. Weasley stared fixedly at Harry. He could only guess what that look was about. "May we, er, speak alone for a moment, in here?" He gestured towards the vacant living room. George looked up from his parchment at the table and grinned slightly at Harry. Harry hadn't seen George like this for almost two months and instantly leapt towards the worst. Harry could only nod as Mr. Weasley ushered him into the room. He moved some laundry and gadgets with a flick of his wand, which all moved closer to the foot of the stairs in a neat pile. Harry still had not learned housework spells.

"Now, Harry, Molly and I have permitted you in seeing our daughter but if you continue in what I have heard from the others," Mr. Weasley shook his head. Harry understood at once that he had been right.

"Mr. Weasley, nothing happened! Ginny borrowed my sweater and then everyone started jumping to wrong conclusions!" Harry said hastily. "She's in school and sixteen and – "

"Ron says that you did not return to his room for bed last night and that Ginny's door was locked." Mr. Weasley said sternly. Harry gaped. Harry could not think of anything to defend himself or Ginny.

"Did he tell you that he and Hermione had slept together last night, then?" Harry asked in desperation. He watched to see if Mr. Weasley's face would hint at anger or shock but he merely smiled.

"Harry, Harry, they are both of age. We cannot stop two eighteen year olds from doing anything. But our sixteen year old daughter and our seventeen year old surrogate son, well." This shortly disoriented Harry. He had never heard Mr. Weasley call him a son and in that way, his relationship with Ginny sounded downright nasty. "You can see why we worry and why we tell you that nothing can happen." He gave Harry a very stern look. "Am I understood?" Harry nodded. This day was making him want to move out quicker than he had imagined.


	2. Chapter 2

Less than a week later, Harry looked around at number twelve Grimauld Place. It was his house now, one that he shared with Ron and Hermione when she was home. It was still dark and gloomy but a difference could be seen. It looked as though someone with poor eyesight had attempted to clean the decade's worth of dust and grim from every surface. Kreacher had returned to Grimauld Place after the battle at Hogwarts to prepare for Harry's return. Harry knew that it wouldn't get any better but he did permit Kreacher to try his best. It was an excuse for Harry to spend more time with Ginny before she returned to school and him to work. Harry walked up the stairs to the master bedroom and looked inside. The room was quite large and very plain. The walls, at one point, had been a shade of green but now looked like a dark brown. Harry wiped at the wall closest to him. The grim stuck his hand to the wall. He yanked and wiped his hand off onto his already filthy jeans. They could be cleaned. Or thrown out. Harry needed new clothes of his own anyway. He was currently sporting a pair of jeans that had once been Bill's and an over large shirt that had been Dudley's. Other than school and dress robes, Harry didn't have clothes that had been bought for him. He didn't mind. He had grown up that way, wearing Dudley's trashed clothes.

Harry walked around and checked the dressers and vanity sets for boggarts or other such creatures. It wasn't going to be his room but he didn't want anything to be in there anyway. Ron appeared in the doorway and knocked. Harry looked up at him.

"Er, we didn't actually discuss it but who is taking which rooms? This place has about ten of them or more and, as it's your house and all…" Ron looked quizzically at Harry. Harry hadn't thought of which rooms Ron and Hermione would take. He just knew he'd take Sirius's old room.

"Just take whichever one you like. I'll take Sirius's room so you guys can have any of the others." Harry looked around at the big room. "You both can have this one if you want. Mind you, the walls are nasty." He showed Ron his hand and jeans but Ron wasn't looking at Harry. He was staring into the room with a dreamlike look on his face. Harry knew what he was thinking. He didn't want to interrupt Ron's daydream but he was blocking the way out. "Ron, did you hear me?" Harry snapped in a Hermione-ish way with his fingers.

"Wha- yeah, yeah, I heard. Nasty walls. Er, do you think we could clean this house a bit before actually getting situated? I don't want my stuff to get this nasty."

"Yeah, I'm sure that we can just Scourgify the whole house and get it done with. Maybe paint or something." Harry was unsure. It was his house but it was also Sirius'. It held Sirius there with all the grim and old green paint. Hermione appeared in the doorway behind Ron.

"Did I hear something about painting? Ooh, I want my room to be lilac. I wonder if that'll work."

"Lilac?" Ron turned on her. "Why lilac? Is it because that's Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?" He sniggered. She blushed but hastily said "No. I like lilac and have since before Professor Lockhart told us that." She turned towards Harry. "So, which room is mine? Does it matter?"

"Er, no. Take whichever one you want. Do whatever you want to it too. I don't really care that much. It is our house after all." Harry smiled at Hermione. She grinned.

"Ooh, goody. I'll take this room next door, shall I? It doesn't look as if it has ever been inhabited regularly." She moved to the next room without another word. Ron looked up at Harry, mouth open.

"What am I supposed to do now? She wants that room and a lilac one at that."

"Ron, just stay in different rooms for now. You've only been together for a couple of months. Don't you think moving into the same room now is a little fast?" Harry knew what his answer was going to be, whether he voiced it or not. Ron mumbled something that sounds like "thought we were serious" then moved on to another room.

Harry looked around. Whether it was going to have someone living in it or not, this room needed to be cleaned. He pulled out his wand and said "_Deprimo._" A powerful wind shot out of his wand and he aimed it at the walls. The grim started to detach and fall to the floor. After half an hour of this, Harry stopped and looked around. It was better but now all the grim was on the floor. He aimed his wand again. "_Scourgify_." Pink foam shot out and after another half hour, the room was spotless. The rust on the bed frame in the middle of the room was gone, which greatly enhanced the look of the room. With a different color on the walls, it would be nice to live in. Harry moved on to the room a few doors down and did the same thing. For all the rooms that were going to be uninhabited, he cleaned them all. After a few hours, he made his way to the kitchen where he was hoping Kreacher had made dinner. Hermione and Ron were already there when he joined. Kreacher had in fact made dinner but it didn't look like anything Harry had ever seen before. He wasn't sure whether it was edible or not. He looked up at Hermione. She gave a weak smile and a shrug. Ron was poking at it with this fork with a look of disgust.

"Er, thank you, Kreacher. It looks….interesting." Harry managed. The old house elf bowed to Harry.

"Tis nothing, Master. Tis nothing. Would you like anything to go with it?" He grumbled.

"No, no, I think we are good." Harry tried to smile at the house elf but felt like he might have grimaced instead. He was glad Kreacher was still bowing.

"Master says as Master wants. Kreacher will be on his way." He bowed out of the room. Harry looked back at Hermione. She was pointing her wand at her own food, which turned into a thick slab of pork. She did the same to Harry and Ron's plates.

"I think that's what it was supposed to be originally. I don't know what Kreacher put in it."

"He's trying to poison us, that's what." Ron said, indignantly. "He still doesn't like that Harry is his new master. He still loves that portrait of that old hag in the hallway. She's probably telling him to poison us so she can be rid of, well, you know." He glanced at Hermione. "Er, blood traitors," he said finally and looked back at his food.

"Well, I don't think that's the case. Harry is his new master and after he gave Kreacher Regulus's necklace, he had softened up a bit to all of us. I think Kreacher is just getting old and cannot see what he's cooking with." Hermione said sadly. "Harry, you may have to, you know, soon." She glanced in the direction where out in the hall, almost a dozen other house elf heads were hung on the wall.

"I know, Hermione. However, I don't want to yet. Once I get this house cleaned and ready, if he still doesn't look good or gets worse, I may have to. I might also get a new one. I like having one around. But not one like Kreacher. One like Dobby. I'll pay him or her too, don't worry, Hermione." He added hastily as she glared at him. She continued to glare until he started eating his food.

"Harry, the whole point of S.P.E.W. is the fact that elves are treated unfairly and –" Hermione started. Harry knew all of Hermione's S.P.E.W. speeches by heart but it still didn't change his mind. This time he had an argument.

"Hermione, look. I understand about your S.P.E.W. and I agree to certain points. But with you away at school and Ron and me chasing Death Eaters for who knows how long, there will be no one here to keep the place clean. Having a paid house elf will be like having a maid." He pointed out. Hermione softened slightly at the Muggle reference. Harry watched her for a few seconds as the connection made sense.

"A maid?" Ron said, thickly. "What's a maid?"

"A maid is a woman who is paid to clean other people's houses or businesses in the Muggle world. To raise children like a house elf sometimes does, it'd be a nanny and to cook would be a chef or a caretaker. So really, a house elf does all the jobs separate women in the Muggle world do." Harry explained. Ron sat for a second then shrugged before continuing on eating. Harry turned towards Hermione who was still silent. "Hermione, we need help here just to keep things in order. It'll be my house elf. It'll be like Dobby. You liked Dobby, remember?"

Hermione resigned. "All right, Harry. But you must pay him or her and give days off and the likes. You can't work it like a slave." Harry grinned.

After dinner, Harry went up to Sirius's – no, his room and looked around. The Muggle posters of women and motorcycles may have been permanently glued to the wall but the wallpaper underneath them hadn't been. Harry used the Severing Charm to cut the wallpaper away along with all the posters. He didn't need these ancient pieces of paper to remember Sirius nor did he want them anyway. _What would Ginny think if I left them? Slept and undressed with posters of almost naked Muggles glued to my wall?_ Harry laughed. He was very glad they weren't magic photos or he'd be in even more trouble if he had decided to leave them. The chipped wall underneath left Harry with a sense of sadness. He had just severed Sirius out of the room but it wasn't his room anymore. It was Harry's and Harry needed to make it his own. He decided that he would repair the room the Muggle way, no magic. It would take supplies and work but he was prepared for it.

The next day, Harry left the spare room he had slept in to go downstairs. He crept passed the portrait of Mrs. Black into the kitchen and found only Hermione at the table. Her hair was disheveled and she was still in her robe. She sipped on her coffee while reading a book, not noticing Harry's arrival. It wasn't until he sat down across from her that she noticed.

"Oh, hello." She went to flatten her hair instantly. She didn't look straight at him and blushed. He couldn't figure out her mood. Why was she blushing and ignoring his gaze?

"Hermione," Harry said slowly, "what is it?"

"What's what, Harry?" She looked up at him and gave a small smile.

"Hermione, did you and Ron –" Ron bumbled into the room, half asleep.

" 'Mornin'." He yawned. He sat down next to Harry and laid his head on the table. Ron wasn't one to act this way in the morning. Harry had very strong suspicions what was making him act this way but he kept them to himself this time.

"So, Harry," Hermione said, laying down the book, "what are you going to do today? I think I'm going to go to Diagon Alley and get some of that paint potion that I read about. It's said to stay bright and last for a very long time. I think I'm going to paint over the wallpaper in my room. I don't like the snakes looking at me but I don't know how to get it off."

"Severing charm worked for me last night." Harry said, pulling a bowl of cereal towards him that Kreacher had just placed on the table. "Mind you, it wasn't very clean so I'll have to fix it today. I'm going to fix my room up the Muggle way. Actually painting and all. No magic." Ron glanced at him from the table.

"Why would-would you do that? Magic is ea-ea-easier." He yawned. Harry shrugged. He didn't know. He just wanted to do it with no magic.

"I'm also going back to Privet Drive to get the rest of my things if I have time. That is, if my uncle hasn't chucked it out already if they returned. I left my Firebolt and things that we didn't need there." He turned to Ron. "What about you?"

"Diagon Alley. Magic. Potion. Red." Ron managed. Harry looked at Hermione who hid behind her book. She wasn't fast enough however. Harry could see her face turning pink. He knew it. He finished his cereal and got up from the table. Hermione looked up, completely pink free.

"Shower." He said and she looked back down at her book.

The long hot shower was nice once he ran the rust out of the showerhead and cleaned the bathroom with the Scouring Charm. He thought about the situation with Ron and Hermione. They were allowed to do it but he couldn't with Ginny. He had already run every single reason why he couldn't through his mind since his 'chat' with Mr. Weasley back at the Burrow. _She's too young. She's still in school. I already have a kid to raise. Like she said, what if we actually don't end up together? I respect her. I love her. I can't use her and if we did it, it would seem like that, wouldn't it?_ The list went on. His biggest fear was Mrs. Weasley. Her angry face showed up every time he thought of Ginny in that way, which promptly pushed every notion out until the next time his mind, wondered. However, sex isn't the only thing in a relationship. Harry listed the reasons why he loved her in his mind too. _She's stubborn. She's beautiful. She's smart, fun, and funny. She loves Quidditch. She's been there, beside me all this time and she still likes me back. She allowed me, no matter how upset she was, to find the Horcruxes and defeat Voldemort without her. She was still there when I came back, still waiting for me._ Harry stood in front of his mirror. He loved her so much it may have hurt worse than the Cruciatus Curse. He wasn't sure. But he couldn't tell her that. Hadn't he warned Ron about moving too fast for a couple of months into a relationship? He wasn't going to go back on that. He heard a small knock from downstairs.

"Ron! Hermione! Could you get that?" Harry shouted pulling on a clean pair of jeans. No answer. "Ron? Hermione?" He shoved on his glasses and walked out into the hall. No one was there. He walked past their rooms. No one was there. The knock sounded again. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered and hurried down the stairs. In the kitchen in front of the fireplace stood Ginny, holding Harry's sweater that he had purposely forgotten at the Burrow. She blushed deep red.

"Do you make it a habit to run around half naked when no one else is here?" She said quietly. Harry glanced down. He had forgotten to put on a shirt. He looked up and, instead of acting embarrassed, tried to act cool.

"Like what you see?" He said and spun slowly with his arms out. Ginny giggled. Harry liked Ginny's giggle. It made him smile. He walked over to her and took the sweater out of her arms. He unfolded it so he could put it on. She placed a hand on his bare chest. He looked at her. Her eyes were such a warm brown, he always felt so calm when looking into them. She was still slightly pink but she wore a sultry expression, which suited the color. She stood on tiptoe and kissed Harry's lips lightly. Harry loved it when she kissed him. She always knew what to do but this time it wasn't enough. She moved away. Before she could get too far, Harry dropped his sweater onto the table and with this right hand pulled her towards him by her waist. She gasped quietly then giggled even more quietly. She looked up into his jade green eyes, him into her chocolate brown. They stood like this for what seem like several sun lit days, perfectly content in staying in this position. Harry bent his head down and kissed her. She kissed back. She kissed with a passion that he had only experienced once before, almost a year earlier on his seventeenth birthday. Her sweet flower scented hair being entangled by his other hand, his right moving towards the small of her back. He could feel her grasping at the back of his broad shoulders trying to get closer to him. Her nails dug into his bare skin but he didn't feel the pain. He only felt the pleasure. He stood a little straighter and lifted her off the ground. Their combined weight pushed Harry towards the table where he hit it in the back of his thighs. He ignored it. Her tongue moved to separate his lips and teeth. He chuckled and then allowed it. Both of their mouths now open, Harry had never felt like this before. His reasoning was leaving him. He didn't care how old she was, where they were. He didn't care that he had another kid or that she was his best friend's little sister. Ginny began moaning. He wanted to push on and he knew she did too. He removed his lips from her mouth and moved to her neck. He placed hot light kisses along her neck. She moaned louder and started running her hands through his wet messy hair. He reached the bottom of her sweater's slight V-neck collar and was almost tempted to pull on it in order to reach the top of her breast. She was almost lifted all the way above him into the air, her feet almost a foot off the ground.

The sight of Ginny's family, faces painted with rage, danced across Harry's mind. Once again, he stopped. They were going to go too far. By playing cool, Harry had pushed Ginny too much and he regretted it. He set her back down onto the ground. Ginny stopped too. Her eyes were still closed as she slowly pulled away from him. They stood there, inches away from each other, eyes still closed, blood rushing in their ears, hearts pounding as one. They were both gasping and searching for air. Harry's glasses had been fogged, making it hard to see but he didn't move. After a few seconds, Harry pulled Ginny back towards him but in an embrace and placed his lips in her hair. She curled up in his arms, her warm sweater against his still bare chest. Harry took his face out of her hair. He couldn't hold onto it any longer. He had to say something but he'd be going against –

"Harry," Ginny whispered.

"Y-yeah?" Harry whispered back. She was silent for a moment. It was almost as if Harry could feel her trying to find the right words, trying not to ruin what had happened.

"Harry, I know it may seem like rushing it but there's something I need to say to you."

"There's something I need to say to you too, Ginny." Harry hoped against hope they were going to say the same thing.

"I've thought it over and I want to do it." She said quietly. That wasn't what he was expecting and not what he wanted to hear. He didn't say anything. "Harry, I don't care what my family says. I don't care that I'm not of age yet. I want to. It's my body, it's my heart, and it's my choice. And I want to give them all to you." She clutched at his skin, shrinking into his arms. She didn't want to let go of him. "I-I love you, Harry." That was what he had wanted to hear but not with everything else she had said. Harry sighed.

"Ginny, I love you too. I have for a while now but I can't. That's how much I love you. I don't want you to regret later on and I don't want you to feel pressured just because there are others doing it. I want – "

"This isn't about other people doing it, Harry. I don't know anyone else who is, at least not at Hogwarts. And this isn't about being ahead of everyone else or pressure from you. I won't regret it because it's you. It's you I love, not a random stranger." She whispered. Her voice made it harder to focus, to resist.

Harry sighed again and lightly pushed Ginny away to look at her. He still held her in his arms. Her brown eyes were filled with tears but he had to explain. He had to stop them. "Gin, I know that. But what if you were right last week? What if we don't end up together? Would you regret it then? What if something happened and you were to get pregnant? I love you and I want this as much as you do but we need more time. We need to make sure it's right. We need to have a relationship where that is just a bonus, not the foundation. You may find some exceedingly handsome bloke at school who is better at everything than I am."

"There isn't anyone else I want but you, Harry." Ginny whispered. He kissed her forehead and pulled her back.

"I feel the same way about you." Harry sighed again. Ron and Hermione, wherever they were, would be back soon and this was definitely a scene he didn't want Ron to walk in on. He was sure he had scratch marks all over his back from Ginny's nails. He was starting to feel the sting from them now. "But we need more time. But I promise when we know we are right, we can. I care about you and your education and future. I also care about your family. I don't want to hurt them anymore than I want to hurt you. They are my family too. I promise." Ginny said nothing but nodded her head in his shoulder.

A couple of minutes later, she pulled away and wiped at her eyes. Harry turned around and picked up his dropped sweater. Ginny giggled. He turned back around to look at her, worried.

"You look like you were attacked by bowtruckles or something." She giggled again.

"Really? Didn't feel like bowtruckles. More like a thestral trying to get my attention." He grinned. Thestrals didn't hurt much and only he could see their spiked heads. Well, he and Neville could. He was afraid at how many students would be able to see them when they returned. He slipped his sweater on over his head and smelled a strong scent of flowers. When he got it situated, he looked at Ginny quizzically.

"So you'll think of me when you wear it." She whispered. He kissed her hair and whispered, "I don't need this to think of you. I always do."


	3. Chapter 3

Ginny had agreed to go with Harry as he got the supplies he needed to fix his room. She had never been inside a hardware store and thankfully acted normal. She asked Harry questions under her breath about objects she saw but otherwise was like any Muggle in the store. Harry had picked a light blue color of paint as it was Ginny's favorite color but he didn't say that. A darker blue had always been his favorite color and used that as his excuse. He also said that if it got any darker, then he'd have to make another window in his room to be able to see. Ginny giggled.

After they had collected all the supplies Harry needed, they walked a little ways into an alley and, seeing no Muggles around, side-along Apparated to Number Four Privet Drive right into Harry's old room. Nothing had changed. It was just as disheveled as it had been when Mad-Eye Moody and the others arrived to take him to the Burrow. Harry, trying to hide the mess from Ginny, bent down and started picking things up by hand. It took almost a minute for him to remember that he could now legally do magic in this house. He stood up and flicked his wand. Everything fell into his open trunk, which had also been left behind. He'd sort out the trash from his possessions later. He took one last look around the room then, trunk in one hand and Ginny with the supplies in his other, Apparated back to Grimauld Place. When he and Ginny popped back into the living room, Ron and Hermione were sitting on the couch, both reading. They looked up and Ron's face suddenly registered surprise at seeing his little sister.

"What are you two doing?" he asked suspiciously.

"Ginny came over earlier to give back my sweater," Harry gestured at the sweater he was wearing over a white button up, "and she agreed to come with me on to pick up a few things at Privet Drive and a hardware store." Ginny merely nodded. "Thought she might like to see both places, you know, things in the Muggle world." Harry shrugged.

"Not as interesting as I'd thought it'd be." Ginny said, matter-of-factly. "We didn't run into Harry's aunt or uncle either. Don't worry." Ginny added at Hermione's expression. "No one was in the house or at least no one heard us. We weren't there but a few minutes."

Harry looked as his watch that he had found which read almost seven. "Gin, I think you might want to get on home. Your mum will think I abducted you or something. I don't start painting until tomorrow if you want to come over and help out."

"I'll be over as soon as I can then." Ginny stepped up on her tiptoes and pecked Harry on the cheek as Ron scowled. "It was nice seeing you, Hermione, Ron." She made her way back to the kitchen fireplace. Harry followed.

When they reached the fireplace, Ginny turned around to Harry. He glanced over his shoulder and, not seeing Ron or Hermione, gave Ginny a kiss. It was very quick and very light but it meant more all the same. She smiled at him and said, "I'll be back tomorrow." She pulled out a small pouch of dirt from her pocket, grabbed a pinch, and threw it into the fireplace. She yelled, "The Burrow!" and was engulfed in green flamed. Harry stared at the fireplace for a while after she was gone, his mind far away from number twelve Grimauld Place. It wasn't until Kreacher tugged on his jeans pant leg that he snapped back to the present.

"Does Master want supper made yet or will he and his friends be going out tonight?" Kreacher asked.

"Going out? Not that I know of. However, why don't you take the night off, Kreacher? I'll make dinner for the three of us tonight." Harry smiled at Kreacher who merely bowed. As Kreacher stalked away, he mumbled, "Master thinks of the blood traitor girl. Master thinks Kreacher does not know what happened today but oh, Kreacher does. Kreacher heard Master's plans with the girl. If the blood traitor's family knew, Master would be in such trouble."

"Kreacher!" Harry yelled. Kreacher stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. "Do _not _use that term ever again or Mudblood, do you hear me?" Kreacher nodded slowly. "Good, now go enjoy your evening off."

Harry pulled out a sack of potatoes and bewitched them to peel themselves with a peeler. He walked over towards the pantry to get other ingredients when a hand was placed on the door to stop it from opening. It was Ron's. Harry almost let out a groan. He just knew he was in trouble this time. If Kreacher had let slip through his mumblings what had happened that morning…Harry didn't want to think about it. He let his face go blank and said "Yes?"

"I heard Kreacher mumbling some nonsense this afternoon about what happened this morning. Now, usually, I don't pay any attention to Kreacher but he was constantly mumbling the same thing." He stated casually, "'Master and the blood traitor girl, moaning and groaning in the kitchen. Master promised the blood traitor. Master-' What did you do this morning, Harry? What did you promise my sister?" Ron now looked absolutely livid. His over brotherliness was kicking into overdrive again and there was no way Harry was going to be able to get out of this one. Hermione had slinked in after Ron and looked worried. Harry glanced between the two of them. He took a deep breath the turned towards the table. Ron and Hermione followed as Harry sat down and put his head in his hands. He took a moment to collect his thoughts then looked up. Ron was still rather red in the ears and it had started to spread to his face. He'd have to say something soon.

"Kreacher was right," Harry said. Ron slammed the tabletop. He was on his feet.

"Right about what, Harry?" Ron bellowed. Harry kept his face and tone calm as he struggled to keep his temper in check. Hermione did nothing but looked between the two. She looked even more worried.

"Well, Ginny and I were in here, er, snogging. We made a promise to each other and that was it." Harry didn't look at Ron but at Hermione. Hermione had her knowing look again but it was mixed with disappointment.

"What was the promise, Harry?" Ron said loudly. Harry's temper was slipping. He couldn't keep anything in his relationship private, could he?

"It doesn't matter, Ron. That's between me and Gin. We're dating and we deserve some privacy. Just because she's your sister doesn't mean you get to know everything that happens between us. You don't meddle in your brothers' relationships, do you? And I don't meddle in Hermione's –" Harry snapped coldly.

"Hermione is not your sister! You don't have a sister! You don't have any siblings! You don't understand!" Ron's face was contorted with rage. Every syllable shook the table. Hermione looked frightened. Harry stood up too. He was furious now.

"She's as good as! And I don't think it matters whether I have actual brothers or sisters! I understand where you are coming from! I have spent almost my entire life with you and your brothers and Ginny so what wouldn't I understand? Tell me, Ron, what is the difference between you and your brothers and Ginny and me and your brothers and Ginny?" Harry shouted. A small pop came from outside the kitchen and footsteps hurried towards the kitchen. Andromeda had rushed in with Teddy in her arms, a grin from ear to ear across her face. She stopped at the sight. The grin vanished instantly.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. Bad time? I can come back." She said quietly, backing out of the kitchen. Harry walked around the table towards her.

"No, no, its fine. Just a…dispute. What is it, Andromeda?"

"Teddy! He-he just said his, well, his _first word_!" The smile reappeared just as fast as it had vanished. Tears started to well in her eyes. Harry's anger towards Ron, his frustration with his privacy, disappeared. Behind him, Hermione squeeled.

"His first word? Ooh, Andromeda, what was it?" Hermione asked excitedly.

"It was 'Harry,' actually. He said your name!" Andromeda looked at Harry with the utmost surprise. "I was reciting names of people who love him, as I do every day, and he repeated your name back. I thought I was hearing things so I just stared. Then he said it again. He was so happy. He started giggling so much. I didn't know what to do. I have never heard a baby as young as he is say anything at all. Of course, I've never seen a Metamorphasis at birth other than Nymphadora or the child of a werewolf so Teddy is full of surprises." She looked lovingly at her grandson.

She then looked up at Harry and handed the baby over. Harry took him with an air of awkwardness. He had only held Teddy a handful of times. He had never been around a baby before and he was very nervous. He looked down at the turquoise haired boy and smiled. His godson had said his name! He wondered if Sirius had been this happy if Harry had ever said his name as a baby. His eyes started to fill with tears too. He hastily wiped them away after making sure Teddy was secured in one arm. The little boy flung his arms in the air from his blanket and started grasping at nothing. Harry held out one finger and Teddy held onto it. He had an amazing grip. It actually began to hurt but Harry didn't pull away. It was the second time that day that pain had actually brought him pleasure.

Harry looked up at Andromeda. She was silently crying. She smiled at Harry and wiped her eyes.

"Oh, I just wish Dora and Remus could see this. They'd be so happy. Of course, wherever they are, they are happy anyway." She cried a little harder. Hermione made her way over and put her arms around the older witch who laid her head on the younger witch's shoulder. "It isn't fair that they left before they could get to know their own son." She sniffed.

Harry could feel the mood degrading with every word. He looked solemnly at Teddy, his hair now a light orange, and knew he felt the same way. He was the same as Teddy. Both of their parents were killed in a battle against Voldemort to give their infant sons a chance at life. Both of their parents had been killed before they got to know their sons. Granted, James and Lily had little over a year with Harry whereas Tonks and Remus only had a couple of months with Teddy. Both of them had fighters for godfathers. A fighter. Harry had never thought of himself as a fighter. He just did what he knew had to be done to defeat Voldemort and now, he was using that same instinct to find his followers.

Harry handed the boy back to Andromeda and turned around. Ron had an expression of suppressed anger which looked mangled as he attempted to force a smile. Harry knew that the instant Andromeda Disapparated, the arguing would commence. He wished Andromeda could stay a while longer so he could get his thoughts together but that wouldn't be right. Besides, he would have to face Ron sooner or later. Harry sighed and turned back around.

"Andromeda," Harry said, "thank you for coming by to tell us the news." He gave her a one armed hug so Teddy wouldn't be squished. "Can I drop by in a few days to check up and help out? I start back at the Ministry in a week. I think we'll be rather busy from then on."

"By all means, yes! Just drop us an owl before you come by. Our door is always open to you, Harry. He is your godson. You have every right to come by at any time you please. Even if it's not about Teddy." She gave a swift glance in Ron's direction.

"Thank you." And with that, Andromeda turned on the spot and with a small pop, vanished.

Harry and Hermione turned back to Ron. His face was no longer red but a faint pink. He had his hands balled up over his mouth and his eyes closed. He sat at the table silent for some time. Harry glanced at Hermione. She had regained her frightened look. Ron was better to explode than to marinate on any infuriating thought and he had just now had about an hour to think about Harry and Ginny. Harry moved back to the table and sat down across from Ron without saying a word. Hermione didn't know where to sit so she stood at the end of the table, watching both of them.

"Harry," Ron said, forcing calm after some time and not looking at Harry, "Just tell me what happened. Don't tell me exactly but tell me what happened."

"Well, it's like I said. Snogging and then we promised and then we were off to the store and my uncle's house." Harry watched as Ron apparently took in the story and accepted it. He nodded. Harry stood up as his button up shirt caught on a loose piece of wood. He didn't notice in time. He heard it before it registered. His sweater and this shirt ripped up the side almost to the neck. He could feel the cooler air sting the clawed marks on his back from Ginny's nails. He turned around to see if Ron had seen it. He had. He stared wide eyed at Harry, unsure of what to make of it. Hermione hadn't seen Harry's back and was confused at the two.

"Ron, Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked timidly. Ron and Harry both ignored her, staring at each other and waiting for the other to say something. The silence was eery.

"What is that on your back, Harry?" Ron asked quietly. Harry decided to lie.

"Nothing. Just got some scratches while cleaning my bathroom this morning. Nothing major. Some nasty bugs in there." Harry could tell this did not pass by Ron.

"When Kreacher said 'moaning and groaning in the kitchen,'" Ron asked slowly, "did he mean –"

"No!" Harry said too loudly. "Nothing happened! Ron, I swear to you-" Too late. Ron had Disapparated. Harry whirled around to Hermione. She had covered her mouth with her hands. "Come on!" Harry said loudly. He saw her spin as he did. The Burrow. He must be going to the Burrow.

Harry landed outside of the Burrow a few yards from it. He heard it before he had reached the door. Yells were emanating from the kitchen. He couldn't tell who's voices they were but he didn't care. Hermione Apparated right next to him and they broke into a run. Harry slammed the door open to see Ron and Ginny, wands out, red faced, and yelling at each other.

"Nothing happened! I just –"

"Claw marks! Kreacher said –"

"Kreacher? You're going to take Kreacher's word –"

"When Harry agreed –"

"Agreed to what, Ron? Nothing –"

"STOP!" Harry bellowed, his own wand out, ready to jinx Ron while Hermione was prepared to jinx Ginny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Percy, and George all looked completely stunned on the other side of the kitchen. They looked as though they were torn between the two, trying to decide which side to take. Mrs. Weasley had her hands in a towel as if she had frozen while trying to dry them. Bill, Fleur, and Percy were sitting at the table, leaning away from their younger siblings. George stood in the corner with his father.

"Ginny, Ron, please." Hermione pleaded. She held her wand tightly. She didn't want to have to jinx her best friend and she didn't want her other best friend to jinx her boyfriend. But something had to happen to stop the madness. "Ron, hear them out."

"Harry told me his lies!" Ron said, loudly. He was livid once again. "I don't want to hear anymore."

"I am NOT lying to you! I told you what happened! Do you want some Veriteserum to make sure I'm telling the truth? Fine, go get some. Brew it yourself. I am telling the truth to you, Ron. Nothing happened. Kreacher is not reliable. You cannot take him at his mumblings." Harry said, just as loudly. "Ginny isn't lying either! Why will you not believe us? Besides you and –" He stopped himself. Bringing out his suspicions of the previous night not only would be a low blow, they were of age and it wasn't his business. He wasn't Hermione's actual brother, as Ron had said numerous times on this subject. What he and Hermione did was there business, not anyone else's.

" Me and who what, Harry?" Ron said angrily.

"Nothing. No relevance. " Harry muttered. Ron snorted. Bill stood up and moved closer to the two.

"Mates, we can settle this without waking up the whole of Britain." He said calmly. "Lower the wands, all of you, and we'll hear everyone in turn." Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny all hesitated then lowered their wands to their sides. He let out a sigh. The rest of the family did too. "Ok, Ron, Harry, I'm going to ask Hermione, who apparently isn't that much involved, what happened. Then I'll ask you two and Ginny." Ron and Harry opened their mouths to argue but Bill cut them off. "Hermione, what is going on?"

Hermione looked timidly between the Weasleys, Harry, Ron, and Ginny before addressing Bill.

"Well, er, Ron and I got home from Diagon Alley today and Harry was gone. He had said that he was going to go to his uncle's house and to a store so we guessed that is what he was doing. Sometime after we had gotten home, Kreacher started cleaning the rooms we were in, muttering things like –" she blushed and looked bashfully at Harry and Ginny. Bill urged her on. "Er, he said, 'Master and the blood traitor girl, moaning and groaning in the kitchen. Master promised the blood traitor. Master making mess in Kreacher's kitchen. Knows that Master shouldn't.' He just kept mumbling the same things over and over again. We tried to ignore him but he got louder. Ron yelled at Kreacher to stop and just tell him what happened. Kreacher, er, he said he couldn't betray 'his Master's confidence for surely Kreacher was not supposed to know' and that he wouldn't say. After that, he stalked off and stopped mumbling so much. We got the message that he wanted to tell what he had seen but couldn't." Hermione didn't look at anyone but looked at her feet. Harry glanced over at Ginny. Her face was blank but was bright pink. Concealing her embarrassment was difficult. Harry was sure it was the same on his face as well. Ron seemed content and angry. He had had his point made and he didn't have to say it. Hermione did. "A couple hours later, Harry and Ginny Apparated in front of us together. We asked them what had happened today and they just said that Ginny had gone to return Harry's sweater and that they went into the Muggle world for Harry's things. Then Ginny left." Hermione fell silent. Bill looked at Ron and Harry then turned to Ginny.

"Alright then. Ron, what has gotten you so upset? You know Kreacher's not to be taken at his word. He lies a lot." Bill started.

"Yeah, I know." Ron snapped. "But when I confronted Harry, he said Kreacher was telling mostly the truth. I believed him. Then his shirt ripped." And before Harry knew what had happened, Ron had grabbed Harry by the upper arm and turned his back on the Weasleys. He wrenched Harry's torn shirt open to show the Weasleys his back. The claw marks made by Ginny that morning. Harry heard Mrs. Weasley and Ginny gasp and Mr. Weasley grinding his teeth. Harry jerked away.

"Nothing happened!" Harry said loudly. "Just some bugs that I found in my bathroom this morning got on me and scratched me. That's all."

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley started, "I was a teenage girl once too. I know those are not bug scratches." She rounded on her daughter. Ginny did not flinch or turn red. She stared back at her mother. "Ginny, what did you do?"

"Snogged Harry." Ginny stated firmly. "Is it a crime now to snog my boyfriend?" Harry made to stop her. "No, Harry. I need to say this." She snapped at him. She turned back to her family. "Everytime I snog Harry and everytime I snogged Dean, someone harps on me like it's a crime! No one cares that Ron and Hermione snog or that Bill and Fleur snogged before they were married. But now!" She scoffed and placed her hands firmly on her hips. "I can't do anything without Harry or I being attacked." She glowered at all of them. Harry's respect levels rose. She was defending them against her family. He never would have raised his voice to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley like this.

"Ginny, snogging is one thing." Mrs. Weasley stated firmly. Pointing at Harry's back she said, "But this is not snogging. That is, well, its almost –"

"Shagging." Ginny stated. She was still glowering. At this point, Harry really did wish she would stop. Nothing had happened and nothing would happen. They promised each other that. Not for awhile at least. "Sex. Lovemaking. I know, mother! I know what could have happened. But it didn't happen. Even if it had, it would be my decision with Harry, not everyone else's! This would be a part of our relationship and it wouldn't be your responsibility! I know the choice and the consequences. I know. That's why we didn't let it go farther. We aren't going to. Don't worry." Her voice trailed off. Tears welled in her eyes, tears of anger. The house fell silent as well. The only sound was Ginny sniffing. Harry didn't know what to do. He thought of some jinxes that would help if he needed to run. He gripped his wand tighter, prepared to escape her brothers and parents. Nobody moved for a few minutes. Then, Bill turned to Harry.

"And this is true? Nothing happened and nothing will happen?" Harry saw Mr. Weasley out of the corner of his eye.

"I respect Ginny too much to do that to her. And I respect all of you too. I wouldn't do that to her or you if it meant anything wrong." Harry stayed silent for a moment. " I too know the consequences that go with the choice. I already have one child to raise. I'm not going to aim for a second for a while. Besides," Harry looked up at Ginny's red wet face and smiled, "I love her. I can wait an eternity."

Mrs. Weasley gasped quietly. Ginny smiled back at Harry. Fleur started crying. Everyone looked at her.

"It's so beautiful!" She wailed. She turned towards Bill and flung her arms around him. "Why didn't you say something like that when your mother was trying to tear us apart?" Bill looked shocked and uncomfortable. He stammered for a few moments then gave up and just patted her on the back.


	4. Chapter 4

Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Grimauld Place much later that night. After everything had calmed down following Fleur's outburst and Harry's confession, Mrs. Weasley had almost forced the three of them to stay for dinner. Harry suspected it was so Ron could cool down so there wouldn't be any further arguments and, from the looks Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were exchanging, he was pretty sure he was right. Dinner had gone by rather silently and when anyone made a chance to start a conversation, it died out quickly and became awkward. Bill and Fleur sat between Harry and Ginny. Harry had had no chance to speak to Ginny or even look at her. Once dinner was over, Mr. Weasley cleared his throat. Everyone looked up at him. He looked slightly awkward but pushed on.

"Er, I think that there had better be some, er, rules laid down so, er – " He waved his hand airily in the direction of where Ginny and Ron had been arguing, "doesn't happen again." He looked pointedly at Harry. Harry could feel himself going hot, not out of embarrassment but anger. They didn't trust him. He took a couple silent steadying breaths but kept his gaze on Mr. Weasley. "I think that, er, there should be someone present whenever you and Ginny are together." Ginny started but Mr. Weasley held up his hand. "I know, dear, that it doesn't seem right but, well…" His voice trailed off. There was silence for a moment before he started back up. "We want you and Harry to be together but you are a little too young. You are still sixteen. They don't have to be in the exact same room with you two, just, er, around. Close enough." Ginny glowered but didn't say anything. Harry did nothing. It was silent for a moment. Mr. Weasley was still looking at Harry and Harry at him. Then Harry have a sharp nod and looked down at his empty plate. He could hear Ginny muttering but no one else was making any noise. He looked down at his watch. It was nearly ten o'clock. He stood up from the table, looked at Hermione and Ron then at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Weasley. I need to be getting back now. I'm surprised Kreacher hasn't come looking for us yet." And without another word, he turned on the spot and was instantly back in the kitchen of Grimauld Place.

Harry looked around at the dark kitchen. The peeler was peeling thin air, all the potatoes, skins and all, in the sink in shreds. Harry sighed and with a flick of his wand the peeler fell onto the potatoes with a soft thud. He flicked his wand again and the potatoes vanished, causing the peeler to fall into the sink with a louder thud. He stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then he pulled off his sweater and shirt and threw them onto the table then sat down. He repaired the shirt and the sweater before putting his head in his hands. How had today gone completely wrong?

Behind him, Harry could hear two loud cracks as Hermione and Ron Apparated into the tiny kitchen. No one spoke, no one moved. Harry was sure that either one or both of them were staring at the scratch marks on his back. A quiet shuffling noise came from in the hall and Kreacher appeared in the doorway. All three of them turned to look at him.

"Was Master able to make dinner tonight? Kreacher did not come out to help as Master asked." He was very quiet and his voice was shaking. Harry became slightly concerned.

"Kreacher," Harry started slowly, "what's wrong? Why are you quiet? What's happened?"

"Nothing, Master," replied the house elf, trying to be louder but failing. He bowed and shuffled back towards his den. Harry stared after him. Then he turned around to face Hermione and Ron. Neither of them looked angry. Hermione still stared after Kreacher with a look of concern and sadness etched on her face. Ron looked blankly at the floor. The silence was deafening. Harry couldn't take it anymore. Something had to be said but he didn't want to start anything tonight.

"Well," he said loudly, getting to his feet. Hermione jumped and turned to look at him. Ron looked up at him, "I'm going to bed now. I'll be in a guest room on the third floor." Silence followed him as he left the kitchen and made his way up the stairs to the third floor. He reached the door when he had just realized he had left his shirt and sweater on the table. He cursed silently then turned around and marched back down to the kitchen. In the hallway, he heard Ron and Hermione's voices, low and upset.

"Ron, it doesn't seem fair to be punishing them. Harry said nothing happened and I believe him. Besides, I don't think he'd do anything to hurt you or your family even if it meant he had to give up something that obviously they both want. He's too modest and respectful of anyone that he cares about to do that. "

"Hermione, she's my sister and he's my best mate. It just seems a little weird to me. I mean, when she fancied him, I was alright with it because I knew he'd never feel that way about her. She was just too weird. Even when they did get together, I wasn't worried because nothing could happen at school. Too many people. But…what?"

"Things _did_ happen at school." Harry felt a wave of disbelief. Nothing did happen at school but it sounded like Hermione was about to lie to Ron. "Not between Ginny and Harry, I mean," she said quickly, "but I did run into quite a few couples in closets and things when we were prefects in our sixth year. It was very awkward but if I hadn't been looking for supplies for Filch, I never would have caught them. It would have been very easy for Harry and Ginny to shag at school but they didn't. I know they didn't. You can tell when Ginny looks at Harry."

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, Hermione?" Ron's voice was getting louder, to the brink of anger again. Hermione shushed him and there was silence for a moment as she listened to see if Harry, who was supposed to be on the third floor, had stirred. He stood completely still and kept his breathing quiet. After a few moments, she went on. "I could tell because it is a similar look to how Lavender looked at you when you two were, er, going out. She had a hungry look in her eye which said that she wanted more than you two were doing." Ron let out a sound of disgust but Hermione ignored him. "Ginny has the same look but it's calmer. She wants something more but she knows she can't have it. Harry won't let her and won't give into his own wants either. I know that. That's why I think it's stupid to punish them like this. They know and they are trying so hard not to do anything. I think it's especially hard on Harry because he's a third wheel in his own house." She giggled quietly.

"You think it's hard on Harry because we're dating and we live together but Harry can't see Ginny?"

"I _know_ it's hard on Harry. Especially since he thinks we're, well…" Her voice trailed off. Harry shivered, realizing he was started to get cold without a shirt on. He crept quietly back to the bottom of the stairs then loudly walked back to the kitchen. He rounded the corner and stopped suddenly. Hermione and Ron looked quite stunned to see Harry back in the kitchen. Even with his loud stomping, it looked like he had still taken them by surprise.

"Shirt," he muttered and picked up his shirt and sweater. He walked back up the stairs to a guest room on the third floor then went in. He laid down on the old bed with a loud creak and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't even bother to undress. Slowly, he faded into sleep.

The week had gone by with almost no variety. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would wake up, go down to the kitchen where Kreacher would serve them breakfast, usually burned toast with what looked dirty water that they took was his attempt at tea. Once he had left the room, the three of them would dump the toast and tea then make their own. Afterwards, Harry would make his way up to his room and worked tirelessly to repair the room well through the day. Ginny had only visited once. She and Harry worked in his room silently as Ron lurked in the doorway, not at all trying for subtlety. Close to dinnertime, she gave Harry a sheepish smile and a quick kiss before she went down to the kitchen to go back to the Burrow. Ron followed her. At the end of the week, Harry had completely remade the room. He looked up at the blue walls and smiled. It was his. This was the first room he had been able to makeover the way he wanted it. It took more work than he had imagined but he decided it was worth it. He moved the furniture back into the room and began unpacking his truck and backpack into the dresser. He left most of the clothes, robes and Dudley's hand-me-downs, because he was going to have to replace them anyway. He decided to give the robes to a second hand shop in Diagon Alley for someone who needed it. He sorted through them and found the ones that weren't ripped or worn. The ripped and worn ones, along with Dudley's old clothes, would be thrown out. No need to keep them. He folded the other robes and placed them on top of his dresser. This was the last free day he had before he would start back in the Auror's office and he had asked Andromeda if he could stop by. Today seemed like the perfect day to do so. He pulled out a piece of parchment and an old quill with which he scrawled a short note to Andromeda. Harry went down to the sitting area where he found Hermione reading the Daily Prophet while Crookshanks was curled up in her lap purring.

"Where's Ron? I need to borrow Pig," Harry said casually. Hermione didn't look up at him when she said, "Dunno but you won't be able to use Pig anyway. Ron sent a letter out earlier and I haven't seen him come back yet." She put her paper down and looked up at him. "Why do you need him?" Harry held up his folded note to Andromeda so she could see. She nodded and turned back to her paper. Harry sighed. He needed to get the note to Andromeda before he showed up at her doorstep. He really wished that he still had Hedwig. He shook his head violently and thought _I need a new owl but it's too soon. She's only been gone a year. But I need to get my letters out too. I can't keep using Pig._ He sighed then a thought occurred to him. He'd just let her know by fire. In a few long strides, he had managed from the sitting room to the kitchen where he pulled a small pot from a nearby cabinet full of what looked like dirt. He took a pinch and threw it in the fire. Emerald flames shot up and he said loudly, "The house of Andromeda Tonks." He stuck his head in the fire which then appeared in the Tonks house.

"Andromeda?" Harry called. She wasn't in the room where he could see but he was sure she was in the house somewhere. A clattering came somewhere on his left. He tried to turn but all he saw was the fireplace and green flames. Andromeda came bustling into the room, Teddy in one arm crying and her wand in her hand. She looked slightly crazed. Her hair was disheveled more than usual and her robes had stains on it. "Andromeda, can I pop over in a few minutes?" Harry asked loudly as Teddy's cries raised in volume. She just nodded. Harry pulled back out of the fire and watched them turn back to yellow. He went to the sitting room where Hermione still sat and cleared his throat. "I'm going to Andromeda's. Be back before supper." He saw her bushy hair move in a way he knew was a nod. He Apparated.

He landed in a familiar spot of land, the same spot he had crashed Sirius' bike with Hagrid almost a year ago. It was dry this time and he didn't pass out so he had a better look at the outside of the Tonks house. It was smaller than he imagined and more Muggle like. The only Wizarding houses he had seen were the Lovegoods' and the Burrow. Both of them were tall, many leveled, and circular. This house, however, looked to be only two storied and square. It had a certain down to earth charm to it but in Harry's opinion, didn't feel as inviting as the Burrow did. Maybe it was just because the only time he had been in was after he and Hagrid had been chased by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Like the Burrow and the Lovegoods' house, it was in the middle of nowhere. He made his way across the yard in a few long strides and knocked once he reached the back door. A scuffling and a cry were heard from inside then the door wrenched open. Andromeda looked more terrible in person than she did in the fire. Her resemblance to her sister Bellatrix, although usually not very pronounced, was even more evident now. She had the same mad gleam in her eyes and her hair stuck up in the same fashion. Her robes and apron were disheveled and wrinkled. She sighed loudly once she grasped that it was Harry at her doorstep.

"Oh, dear, I am so happy you are here. It has been awful!" She exclaimed and, without warning, placed Teddy in Harry's arms. He took the boy awkwardly then adjusted to a more comfortable position. Andromeda bustled off without another word into the kitchen. Harry followed timidly. "Just awful! I didn't know what to do and Teddy has been crying all day. I don't know what he wants and I can't figure out what else to do." Her voice trailed off at the end and she plumped down into a table chair quite suddenly. Harry, who was rocking the still crying baby, slowly sat down across from her. As suddenly as she had sat down, she was back on her feet and bustled out of the room.

Harry looked around. Bottles and dishes were piling up around the sink with soapy water dissolving sitting there, unused. Harry secured Teddy and flicked his wand. The dishes flew into the air then, with a soft splash, landed in the sink. With another flick, they rose again and a scrub arose to wash them. Blankets and robes were strewn around too. Harry flicked his wand a few more times and within a matter of minutes, the kitchen looked almost unrecognizable from when he walked in. After he had finished straigtening up the kitchen, Harry noticed that Teddy had stopped crying. He looked down to find Teddy watching him, his hair platinum blonde, with silent admiration. His eyes glanced between his godfather's face and his wand. Harry pointed his wand above the boy and small blue and gold sparks emitted, hovering and dancing just out of Teddy's delighted and wriggling reach.

Andromeda dashed back into the kitchen with a piece of paper squashed in her thin hand. She stopped abruptly and took in her cleaner kitchen and her giggling godchild. She sighed with immense relief on her face.

"I am so sorry this place is such a mess. I just haven't been on track recently. It's just so – oh, I don't know. With Teddy crying all day, I don't think I was thinking very much outside of trying to pacify him." She sat back down but with more tenderness.

"Andromeda," Harry said slowly, "what is it that is so awful?" Her husband, daughter, and son-in-law were already dead so unless it involved Teddy, Harry could not think of anything that got her so riled up and unfocused. She put the hand that had the piece of paper on the table then slid it across to Harry. Slowly, she let go and tried her best to unwrinkled it with her hand. Harry turned it over. The note was short and written in large scribbling handwriting similar to Ron's.

Andromeda,

I know you mourn the loss of your husband, daughter, and son-in-law as much as I mourn the death of my wife but it will be nothing compared to what will await you for my dear great-nephew if you do not do what I say. Do not contact the Ministry, do not tell anyone. This is between you and me as family. And, of course, dear Teddy. I will be in personal contact with you soon as to what you will need to do. Do not forget, I will know what you do. I am watching you.

Rodolphus Lestrange

Harry read and reread note multiple times. Kingsley Shacklebolt had put Harry on finding this exact man shortly before letting him leave on vacation for a few weeks. Harry had had no leads and had become infuriated that someone like Rodolphus Lestrange could just disappear after the Battle of Hogwarts. He was sure that after the downfall of his master and the death of his wife that Rodolphus would start mayhem by killing Muggles or tormenting Muggleborns. Harry looked up at Andromeda. She had been silently crying as he had read the note. He looked down at Teddy who had fallen asleep in Harry's arm after the sparks has faded. He raised his head to look Andromeda straight in the eye. It was quiet for a moment and then, in a quiet voice, she said, "I don't know what to do. I wanted to tell you the instant I found it but I was so afraid. I can't hide anywhere, I can't tell anyone. I don't know what to do if he shows up here. He could hurt my grandbaby." More tears trickled down her face and onto her robes. Harry's mind spun. Thinking fast, he came to a decision that might work. He stood up and searched for a spare piece of parchment in the nearby drawers until he found one. After grabbing a quill and some ink, he sat back down and saw Andromeda's puzzled face. Without a word, he bent over the parchment and began to write furiously. After a few minutes, he pushed the paper towards her and let her read it.

"That's Hermione's new idea on elf representation. She can't wait to pass her N.E.W.T.s and get into the Ministry so she can try it out. I think it's a load of hogwash myself. Ron won't give me his opinion. I think he's too scared that if he tells the truth, she'll start another row or break up with him." Harry said loudly. Andromeda stared at the parchment for a moment then looked up at Harry.

The edges of her mouth twitched as she said, "It's not a bad plan. She might just make it work after all. Let's hope Hermione is as good as convincing people as you say." Harry smiled. That wasn't what the parchment said at all but if his suspicions were true, then this game of charades needed to go on for his plan to succeed.

For most of the evening, Harry and Andromeda talked about less important things: the weather, the Ministry's new plans, the house and it's disarray. It took almost three hours for Andromeda to bring up the topic that Harry had come to see her about.

"Harry," she started sheepishly, "I know it's not good to pry unless you are a mother and, well, as you aren't my son I feel quite uncomfortable asking but you look as though you need to say it, but, er, why were you and Ron arguing when I came over last week?" She ended the question in a rush. For a moment, he could see some of Andromeda's youth flush back into her now calm face. She blushed like schoolgirl talking to someone she fancied for the first time. Harry laughed.

"Andromeda, you can pry all you want. I don't mind, really! Mrs. Weasley does it to me too. Besides, it's nice to know what a mother is supposed to be like." He didn't hint at any sadness as he said this but Andromeda's face drooped slightly. He continued on. "Well, you are actually right. I did come over here, not only to see you and Teddy, but to talk to you and ask for your advice on something." Harry then told her of that day, of Ginny's surprise visit, of Kreacher's mumblings, of Ron's fury, and the new rule that Mr. Weasley put into effect on their already invaded relationship. Andromeda did not say a word or move as Harry told her every detail, every truth he had denied the Weasleys and even of his own thoughts that he had denied Ginny. Once he had finished, he felt slightly better as if a burden had been lifted out of his chest and he sat up a little straighter. Andromeda eyed him for a moment, taken in the relief and nervousness mingled on his face. After a moment, Andromeda spoke with a motherly reverence in her voice.

"Harry, dear, I understand where you are coming from, I really do. It seems to me that this is not the first time an instance like this has happened." Harry blinked. He had never done anything like this. Who was she talking about or was she talking about teenagers in general? She chuckled and then pressed on. "Harry, when Ted and I met, we were similar to you and Ginny. He is Muggle born as you are Muggle raised and Ginny and myself come from pureblood families. It may be this or it may be the fact that you and Ted are more alike in personality by a different means that can be explained. Who knows." She shrugged. "We fell in love quickly and knew we would be together forever. As the months passed, I wanted a more physical stand point in our relationship, to show Ted that I would be his and would always be his." Harry could feel the heat rising in his face but attempted to keep a mildly interested yet blank face to keep from giving away his discomfort in her disclosure of her relationship with her late husband. She did not noticed and kept on. "Ted refused no matter how many times I tried, begged, and seduced. I got very close once but I still failed. He kept assuring me that he loved me too much to let something as significant as what I wanted to hinder myself. He said that if we went through with it, my family would hate him, that I would find a man who was better at everything and that I would regret what we had done. I kept telling him that it didn't matter if we did or did not ever do anything, that my family would hate him forever just for being Muggle-born. Eventually, I stopped trying to 'prove my love' to him and we went on as we had before." She stopped and looked thoughtfully for a moment. "Actually, it wasn't as it had been before. We grew more in love with each other. It wasn't a purely physical relationship like the peers around us. We never ran out of things to talk about. We never ran out of ideas and plans, things that did not involve the physicality we both craved. We gained more than that and when we both became of age, marriage was too obvious a choice. We still waited to ensure that it wasn't just the school atmosphere that held us together. Harry, what I mean is that Ginny will still love you if you keep refusing. She probably won't try again because of your promise to each other but if she does, just keep telling her that you love her too much. True love is a relationship built on more than the body but of the mind and heart too. Her family though," She smiled slightly as she placed a hand on top of Harry's, "it isn't her family you need to worry about. It's her brother. Ron is very protective of her because he is the closest to her. George, Percy, and Bill will not know what to do if this every came across their path and, from what Nymphadora told me a couple of years ago about her Bat-Bogey Hex, they may be too afraid to cross her. Ron has crossed her too many times to be afraid like his older brothers. True, the rule that Arthur has placed is too strict but I believe he is only insuring that he won't have to visit his youngest son or his only daughter in either St. Mungo's or Azkaban from a rather nasty duel. Harry, September will come and when she becomes of age, it will be even harder for you to decide what you want to do. Let's just hope she mellows out as she returns to Hogwarts with the transition and confusion of the new regime."

Andromeda stood up and walked around the table to finally take Teddy out of Harry's arm. He was still asleep though his hair was now jet black and took a surprising resemblance to Harry's. Harry watched as Andromeda rocked Teddy slowly on her way to her room to lay him down. When she returned, she stood in the doorway, looking quite tired. Harry recognized it as his quiet dismissal. He stood up, walked across the room to Andromeda, and gave her a hug. She was almost a head shorter than he was and, he noticed, shorter than Bellatrix by a fair few inches. She hugged him back and placed a small motherly kiss in his hair. He pulled away from her and smiled. He turned to leave. Before he made it to the door, he had another sudden idea and turned back to her.

"Andromeda," Harry said quite quickly, "we need to make a copy of the other side of that plan. I, er, need to make sure that, er, Hermione sees it so that she can check up on my facts." He widened his eyes slightly, hoping she would get what he was trying to say without saying it. She did. Without a word to him, she pulled the letter back out, pointed her wand at it and muttered, "Geminio." A perfect copy of Rodolphus Lestrange's note fell to the floor. Andromeda picked it up and handed to to Harry. He nodded curtly then made his way outside. In the yard, without missing a beat, he turned midstride and Apparated back to Grimauld Place's dark kitchen where Ron and Hermione were eating dinner. They didn't even turn as he landed with a loud pop at the end of the table.

"Have a nice time at Andromeda's?" Hermione asked stiffly over the same edition of the Prophet she had been reading when he left. Ron snorted in disbelief. Harry just stared between them, noticing both of them were in extremely bad moods that he suspected came from a very recent row.

"Er, yeah," he said, still looking from one to the other. Hermione placed the newspaper down with a touch of roughness and gave him a driving look that told him he needed to say more. "I helped out around the house a little, trying to make her feel a little less, er, mad, I guess you could say. Then we talked. She's in a spot of trouble." At these words, Hermione's coldness dropped significantly and a frantic look sprawled across her face. Ron turned to look at him, still looking like he didn't believe something and looking concerned. Harry made his way to the end of the table and sat down where he was able to see the both of them. "Listen, she got a note the other day from Rodolphus Lestrange." Hermione gasped. Ron looked shocked. "It, well, it threatened her and said she had to do something but it didn't say what or when or anything. She made a copy of the note which I have." He thrust out the copied note she had handed him towards Hermione. She read it out loud then placed a hand over her mouth.

"Harry, what are we going to do? She can't stay there. What if he's bugged her house?"

"I thought those same things." Harry said and the plan he had written to Andromeda came spilling out. "Tomorrow, Hermione, you are going to talk to Andromeda through the fire and ask her if she could help you with some dress shopping or something. She's going to agree then you are going to Apparate over. Once you are over there, you need to do that Undetectable Extension Charm you did to your bag last summer so she can pack for herself and Teddy. I wrote down the address for Grimauld Place because I had the Fidelius Charm redone. I'm Secret Keeper as are you two and now her. You two and Teddy are going to Apparate here. If she can't because of Teddy, inform me and I'll be able to pull a favor from the Department of Magical Transportation and see if her Floo Network is being watched. If it isn't, I'll let you know and the three of you can come by Floo. If it is, then I will find another way. You will just need to wait at her house until I am able to tell you how to get here. She's going to move into one of the guest rooms for a while until Rodolphus is found or confirmed dead." He said, hopefully. Hermione gave him a fearful yet stern look. "Well, it'd be less paperwork if someone else killed him!" He said quickly. "Will you do it, please, Hermione?" She nodded.

"Harry, she Apparated last week with Teddy. Why would tomorrow be any different?" Hermione asked tentatively after a moment.

"Rodolphus may or may not know how to put some time of anti-Disapparating Charm on her house. The Malfoys did at their manor and the Death Eaters did in Hogsmeade. It may be common knowledge for Death Eaters on how to do that." Harry shrugged then looked at Ron. His face was completely blank of any emotion or color. His eyes were slightly glazed over and Harry could tell he was thinking about something. He gave him a soft punch on the arm. Ron snapped back.

"What?"

"Where you going, mate? You're just drifting off into space," Harry turned back to Hermione and asked the both of them, "What happened before I came back?"

There was silence for a while. Harry expected for it to linger until someone gave up and went to bed. He was about to resign to that idea when someone spoke. It wasn't Hermione but Ron.

"I thought you were back at the Burrow with Ginny. Hermione was trying to tell me you weren't, that you were at Andromeda's and I didn't want to believe her. Then she started going off about…nevermind." His voice trailed off. From the look on Ron and Hermione's faces, Harry could tell whatever Hermione had gone on about was not something that he particularly needed to know. He had a feeling it had been about something in their own relationship and, so that neither of them had to finish Ron's thought, he stood up.

"Right, well, I'm going to bed now. Good night."

Hermione was right. Being a third wheel in his own house was punishment enough.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, this should be the end of the constant Harry/Ginny fluff for a while. Now comes the ACTION, the ENEMIES, and, most importantly, DRACO! :D**

The next few days went by in a haze as Harry readjusted to life as an Auror. He only remembered what day it was when he Apparated back to Grimauld Place with Ron late Friday night to find the rest of the Weasleys and Hermione standing in the small kitchen with a large cake in Ginny's hands. It was his eighteenth birthday. How could he forget his own birthday? Each Weasley greeted Harry and wished him happy birthday before sitting down to take their fair share of the cake. Harry looked to Hermione.

"Well, I knew that you would forget your own birthday so Ginny and I planned a party for you but as most of the remaining members of the Order are busy and all our Hogwarts friends can't be here, we just decided a small little party here would be just as good. Your birthday never really gets much recognition. I'm sorry," Hermione looked pityingly at him. He didn't understand. Until his eleventh birthday, his birthday was never remembered at all by the Dursleys. He remembered Dudley's own eleventh birthday as he had thrown a tantrum due to only getting thirty-seven presents and then getting bored at the zoo. Harry always assumed that was too big for any child because Dudley was constantly spoiled by Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, not to mention Aunt Marge when she visited. To him, just having the Weasleys over for dinner and cake was a big enough party. He stared at her for a moment then thought of something.

"No, this is too big, Hermione. We are always at school for your's and Ron's birthdays. You two never get parties. Why don't we ever do anything for you two?"

To Harry's surprise, she laughed. She looked up into Harry's face then shook her head as if she realized something.

"Harry, Ron and I have had our birthday's celebrated our whole lives. We just thought you'd like to have yours celebrated too. Like to make up for the fact that your first ten weren't."

Harry thougt about it then came up with a compromise.

"Fine, but from now on, my birthday can't be the only one celebrated around here. You and Ron will have parties too." Hermione started as if to interrupt but Harry put his hand up to stop her. "We'll celebrate yours before you leave for school and Ron's when you come home for Easter then, when you leave Hogwarts, we can do it properly." Hermione stood silent for a few seconds then nodded. She turned to the party and went to join Ron who was talking to his parents. Ginny took Hermione's recently vacant spot in front of Harry. They didn't speak for a few minutes but watched as the Weasleys and Hermione laughed and talked. Harry's cake was almost gone and he hadn't even cut himself a piece yet. Ginny was the first to speak.

"You know what this means, don't you?" She asked in a low voice. Harry looked down at her quizzically. She chuckled. "It means I only have one more month of freedom."

"But a month and a half until you're of age. That's got to count for something, right?" Ginny rolled her eyes.

"That's what I mean. Once I'm of age, there are so many responsibilities. I haven't even learned to Apparate and I have to take the test in over a month. Then I'm legally responsible for all the magic I use and all the choices I make. Do you know that I don't even know what I want to do when I leave school? My career conversation with McGonagell didn't go very well." She sighed then looked at her parents. "I wish I could stay at Hogwarts."

"No you don't," Harry said shaking his head. "If you stay at Hogwarts, you won't go anywhere. Well, unless you take over for Madam Hooch as Quidditch referee. But seriously, all your friends will leave and then you'll be in your thirties making friends with teenagers and kids. You don't want that. And let me tell you something." He turned Ginny around to face him. "I'm eighteen now and I still haven't taken my Apparition test." He laughed. Ginny stared at him wide-eyed.

"You've been Apparating illegally?"

"Well, not really. Most of the Apparating we did trying to find the Horcruxes was all done by Hermione or Ron. I just tagged along. So, more like for a couple of months." He shrugged casually as if it was something not important. Ginny, on the other hand, looked almost Hermione with the look of horror etched on her face.

"Harry! Why haven't you been caught yet? They can arrest you for that and then you'll be in a lot of trouble!"

"Gin, it's alright. With all the confusion from the last battle no one is really paying attention to illegal Apparition. But Doldon from Magical Transportation has been hinting at not letting it go any longer." He saw the stern Mrs. Weasley-ish look he was getting from Ginny and raised his hands in defeat. "I'll take the test next week, don't worry!" She gave him a quick nod then stood in silence.

The rest of the party was enjoyable. Mrs. Weasley fussed slightly over the state of Grimauld Place, that it still wasn't inhabitable but Ron was able to stop her fussing.

"It's a work in progress, Mum. We're making it better." Ron said loudly.

It was nearly midnight when Mrs. Weasley decided the party was near the end. With a wave of her wand, she cleaned up the mess they had made and made the small dark kitchen clean again. She turned around to face Harry and Ron. She looked them up and down before speaking.

"We are going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get Ginny and Hermione's things for school. You two need to get some professional robes for work. You look as though you've grown again. Or maybe you've just shrunk your clothes in the wash." Her voice trailed off in a hopeful sort of way. Harry knew by Ron's eye rolling that this was Mrs. Weasley's way of trying to get them to move back to the Burrow. She still wasn't comfortable with her youngest son moving out. Harry was sure she felt the same way about him but she didn't have any control over him like she did her own children. Even so, they couldn't deny they did need new robes. Harry looked down at what he had worn to work that day. It was an old worn pair of Bill's jeans and a faded blue button up of Dudley's rolled up multiple times up to his elbows. He had been getting some odd looks at work but he was so infrequently actually in the office, he didn't know how Aurors usually dressed. He guessed he'd just have to ask Madam Malkin or Ron to help. He nodded. With that, the Weasleys vanished in the emerald flame.

The next morning was very unfamiliar. Harry was used to trips to Diagon Alley beginning with lots of chaos and confusion at the Burrow and, on occasion, a few of Fred and George's fireworks being set off to the frustration of Mrs. Weasley. This trip, though, was so mild in comparison that Harry felt like he was living someone else's life. Harry woke at nine to the unsettling smells of what he suspected as burning tires, charred eggs, and fire. With a jolt, he bolted out of his room with only his pajama bottoms and wand, not even grabbing his glasses, and ran downstairs. Kreacher was standing stock still at the stove with his hand on the handle of a pan which was emitting large flames and dark smoke.

"Aguamenti!" Harry shouted. A large stream of cold water splashed against the pan and a loud crackling filled the kitchen. Once the flames were put out, Harry rounded on his ancient house elf. Kreacher hadn't noticed the fire or Harry. He was drenched in water and his long wrinkled fingers holding the pan were charred. His large half closed eyes were glazed over with a vacant expression that Harry had never seen before, especially on the house elf. Harry snapped his fingers in front of Kreacher's large squashed tomato shaped nose to no effect. "Kreacher!" Harry said loudly. The house elf still didn't move. With the tip of his wand, Harry pushed Kreacher. He fell over. Harry stood in shock. Did Kreacher just…die? Harry ran to the bottom of the stairs and shouted with all the force he could muster, "HERMIONE!" Within a few seconds, Hermione and Ron appeared at the top of the stairs with sleepy wild looks which was enhanced by Hermione's fly away hair.

"Harry, what's – "

"I think – I think Kreacher – died," For all of Harry's loathing towards the house elf, for all of his thoughts of somehow poisoning him without suspicion, his death took him by surprise. Hermione and Ron bolted down the stairs into the kitchen, Harry following in shock. Hermione instantly went to work. She crouched next to Kreacher, pulled out her wand, and began muttering spells under her breath.

"…Anima Revelio," Hermione finished some twenty minutes later. Nothing had happened. At last, abandoning all magical methods, she reached out her hand hesitantly towards Kreacher's neck to check for a pulse. Once her fingers made contact with the shriveled up old house elf's skin, Harry knew he was dead. Even if he had somehow been able to fake death through all of Hermione's spells, no matter what ploy Kreacher would be attempting to pull off, he would never let Hermione or Ron touch him. Harry did not need Hermione's head shaking to tell him the wretched elf was finally dead. He had a sense of excitement and sadness fight each other inside of him. The reason Sirius was dead was finally dead himself but he was still a living being.

Harry moved to the table and sat down, putting his head on his balled fists. What was he going to do now? He knew the old Black family tradition was to stuff the elf's head and mount it to the wall with its predecessors but Harry had never liked that tradition. The never blinking, ever still heads jutting out from the hallway always made him feel slightly paranoid as if someone was watching him as he hurried past the numerous heads. What was more, he knew that once Hermione left for Hogwarts, he and Ron would need help at Grimauld Place keeping it habitable and decent meals didn't hurt his want for a new house elf either. But Ron once told him that house elves were passed through old Wizarding families. It wasn't like a cauldron or a broomstick, just walk into a shop and pick one off the shelf. Ron broke the silence first.

"Well, now we can cross off one person trying to do us in every morning, can't we?" He tried suppressing a small smile but failed miserably. Harry looked up at him and slowly began to laugh. Hermione on the other hand looked absolutely aghast.

"Ron! He was still a living being! Show some resp-" Before she could finish her sentence, emerald flames shot out of the fireplace besides Harry and Mr. Weasley stepped out, brushing ash off of his worn traveling cloak. Seconds later, Mrs. Weasley then Ginny appeared behind him, none of them noticing Harry, Ron, and Hermione nor Kreacher's dead body.

"It's twenty till ten and we thought we'd come and get you lot so we all arrive at the same time." Mrs. Weasley started, still not looking up from her ashy cloak. Once they were relatively ash free, they looked up at the scene and Mrs. Weasley gasped. Behind her, Harry could see Ginny was having the same mixed feelings he was about excitement and sadness.

"Before you ask, Mum," Ron said loudly and quickly, "we didn't kill him. Harry found him like that. Well, he was actually standing, I think, but he was definitely dead. Hermione's checked. She was even able to touch him so I think that's one bloody good sign he's gone off. Won't miss him, though. No more mumblings and cursing, eh?" Harry tried not to laugh again.

"Yes, well, er, why don't you all get dressed then we'll, er, be off?" Mrs. Weasley stammered, her face as white as a ghost. Harry had just remembered that he still only had on his pajama bottoms on. He stood up quickly and nodded. He and Ron left the room while Hermione lifted Kreacher onto the table with her wand.

He had just pulled on his last pair of clean jeans when he heard a soft knock at the door. Thinking it was Mrs. Weasley, Harry hastily flicked his wand around the room. Dirty clothes flew into the air and with another flick, landed in his hamper in a rather messy way.

"Come in," he said once he was sure most of his floor was cleaned up. With his back to the door, he didn't see who it was but he heard the door close quietly. Maybe Mrs. Weasley had left seeing that he still wasn't dressed. But small warm hands closed around his slender stomach and he could smell a faint flowery scent as a face pressed to the middle of his back. Harry laid his free hand on the hands around his stomach and stood still for a moment then he turned around to face her. Ginny looked as stunningly beautiful as ever. Her face was slightly worn with exhaustion but she still shone with a warm glow. Harry thought that was just what he saw because he loved her so much. He didn't really know if it was her doing or his but he didn't care. Her warm chocolate colored eyes didn't look into his face but watched as she brought a hand to his chest and outlined a faint scar near his collarbone. The scar the Horcurx necklace had left after Nagini's attack when it burned to Harry's skin when Voldemort had tried to capture him. It was only by Hermione's Relashio spell and quick thinking that they had gotten away with their lives. It still looked raw and new even thought it was faint and old. The redness never left, making it a direct sight compared to the rest of Harry's pale skin. It never hurt, even when it was new, but Ginny's light outlines made it tingle slightly. She then moved her thin fingers down to his other scar. His newest scar. He hadn't seen it for days afterwards. It was only until Ron had asked him which son of a bitch hit him and with what that Harry noticed it at all. It was a scar in the shape of a small explosion right over his heart. He couldn't remember anyone hitting him with a curse at all during the battle so his confusion lingered until he remembered. Voldemort had hit him right over his heart with the Killing Curse, the last successful curse he would ever manage. The curse that destroyed the piece of his sould hidden inside Harry. Harry didn't admire his scars but they were reminders of what he had done. Twice he had survived the Killing Curse from Voldemort and twice he had survived. With help, he had been able to take Voldemort down almost literally from the inside. They were the beginning, the middle, and the end. It raised his scar count to four.

Ginny left her hand on the scar over his heart as she stood on her tiptoes to reach Harry's lips with her own. Harry reciprocated the soft touch of lips and hoped that she would not try to push further. She didn't. Instead, she slowly landed back on her heels then looked into his face.

"Mum wants to hurry. She's afraid there may be a crowd or something. I think she just knows we'll spend forever in the shops. Last year and the year before weren't what you'd call fun trips." She removed her hand from Harry's chest as she said these words and began to back away towards the door. Harry grabbed her hand and kept her there and, before he could think, began furiously kissing her. Ginny was the one to push away. She stood still for a little while then spoke, in a very soft voice, in the direction of their feet, "You know I want to kiss you back but I'm afraid of myself if I do. So I think it's best we don't. For now, I mean."

"Alright, Gin." Harry gave her a quick peck on the cheek then released her hand. He turned his back on her to find a shirt. He half expected to hear the door open and close but he didn't. When he turned around a minute later, she was still standing there looking at the floor. Her face was bright pink. She didn't meet his eyes but walked out silently into the hall with him.

Before they reached the kitchen again, Harry stopped her and faced her. Ginny didn't look up so Harry placed a gently but forceful hand under her chin. Reluctantly, she looked up.

"You've got a little something, er, there." He made a sweeping motion with his hand to indicate her whole face. "It's a bright pink color. You might want to get rid of it. Incriminating evidence, some may call it." Ginny giggled then took a couple deep steady breathes. Her face was white and red freckled again. Harry nodded contently.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it's so short. Well, short for me. More action will continue. And do you know what would be great? Ideas. If you wanna see some of your ideas, PM or review me your ideas and I'll see if I can't incorporate them into my tale. **

**I do not own Harry Potter. It all belongs to Queen of the Series Literature, JKR.**

Following the week started most of Harry's troubles. His contact in the Department of Magical Transportation finally had an answer for him about Andromeda's fireplace.

"It's rigged." The small wizard answered wearily.

"What do you mean? I was able to use it last week. What – " Harry stated exasperatedly. The small wizard shook his head vigorously.

"It's not rigged against adults but against _children._ Anyone underage cannot use that fireplace to leave. I'm sorry, Potter. Your godson cannot leave with his grandmother. He's trapped in that house. I've never seen anything like this spell. Who placed it on that house anyway?" Harry had been dreading this question. He hadn't even told Kingsley yet that Adromeda was in trouble and, with the way gossip flew faster than owls or bewitched memos, he wasn't about to tell Thomas Tumny. Harry just shrugged and shook his head. He sighed and placed a hand on Tumny's shoulder.

"Thanks, Tumny. I'll figure it out eventually." With that, Harry spun on his heels and all but ran to the Auror's office. Finding Kingsley was not an issue. Above all the usual talk, spells, and wooshing of owls and memos, Kingsley's low loud voice echoed across the office. Even though he was the Minister of Magic, Kingsley could not escape the life of an Auror. He was too damn good. Almost every young Auror, and some of the older ones, would seek out his advice and thoughts on just about every case. Kingsley didn't seem to mind. It was as if he didn't need sleep, food, or peace. When Harry reached him, he was arguing in an undertone with numerous officials of other departments while trying to sign a plethora of what Harry assumed were petitions for political power. Harry never understood those. He waited not so patiently in the shadows until the officials walked away contentedly, or as contentedly as possible when refused in the politest way. Harry, although shorter than Kingsley by a fair few inches, snuck up behind Kingsley and peered over his shoulder.

"I thought I only hired adults to be Aurors, Potter." Kingsley chuckled. Harry grinned as the big man turned to face him. His appearance had not changed to suit his new role as Minister of Magic. He still wore the violet and maroon colored **(A/N: based off of the movie costume design which I LOVED) **casual dress robes and his gold earring which, Harry noticed, was larger. "Like it?" Kingsley asked, "It suits the Minister quite nicely." He winked. "So, what can I do for you, Potter? Need more vacation time to be with your girl? By the way, nice robes. Glad to see you are finally following the rules." Harry glanced down at his new dress robes. Mrs. Weasley had convinced him to by multiple sets, but in different styles, of dark emerald green dress robes. Harry felt uncomfortable and restricted. He grimaced quickly then looked back up at his friend.

"Ginny's fine without me," Harry chuckled. "It's actually about Andromeda Tonks. She's in spot of trouble with Rodolphus Lestrange. He's threatened – "

" – Teddy and herself, saying he's watching their house, until his further instruction." Kingsley finished. Harry stared astonished. If Kingsley knew, why wasn't he, or anyone else, doing anything? As if he read Harry's mind, the Minister replied, "Glad to see you're on top of things, Potter, because your next assignment will help you with this." Grabbing Harry's shoulders in a one-armed hug type of vice, the two wizards made their way to Harry, Ron, and Neville's large shared sub office where a long thin man waited, his back to the entrance, in Harry's chair with his feet on the desk and paperwork. His long slender arms were folded behind his platinum blonde head which stared up at the ceiling, a crooked black wand sticking out within the hands. "He is having the same issues and has requested the best Death Eater hunter to help. This means you, my boy." Kingsley clapped Harry on the back once then left before the man could turn around. When he did, Harry's face contorted into a scowl and gripped his wand inside of his dress robes.

"Malfoy," he growled.

Sitting before him in a dark suit was the infamous Draco Malfoy. His pale face was a shadow of its former glory. His dark eyes didn't hold the same steely gleam they once held for many years in school and looked to be sunken in his skull. His skin was tight and almost translucent, giving him the appearance of a well lit ghost. He slumped over slightly when he stood, making the two rivals the same height. His carefully cared for hair was disheveled in a sense of lose or grief. What could make Malfoy look so much more pathetic than usual was a mystery to Harry that he didn't want to find out. With a list of spells he could use in such a confined space coming to the tip of his tongue, Harry cautiously moved into his office towards Malfoy, ready to strike. Malfoy didn't move. He seemed not even to notice Harry was there or that he was there either. Harry, impatient in the silence, made the first move.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry asked through gritted teeth. Malfoy's face contorted for a moment then relaxed in resignation. He put his hands into his trouser pockets and sat on the edge of Harry's desk. _Merlin, now I'll have to burn that later,_ Harry thought.

"It's like Kinglsey said," Malfoy said slowly, "It's Rodolphus Lestrange. He blames me for Aunt Bella's death. I wasn't even there!"

"What, is he threatening your mummy and daddy or something? Can't the big bad Death Eater and his wife take care of – " Harry taunted.

"It's not my parents or I wouldn't be here, Pothead!" Draco roared. Harry, taken aback, waited. "It's – it's my girlfriend, Astoria. She's a sixth year at Hogwarts but he's still claiming he can hurt her." Draco lowered his head in shame to be asking his rival for help. _Astoria? What happened to Pigfaced Parkinson? _Harry shook his head. Why should he care that Parkinson and Malfoy aren't, or were never, together? He rearranged his face to show mild boredom as he waited for Malfoy to continue on. He never did.

"And the proof of this claim is…?" In response, Malfoy thrust a crumpled noted in Harry's direction without looking up. Harry caught it and unfolded it only to recognize the large scribbled handwriting he saw only two weeks beforehand.

Draco,

Draco, Draco, Draco. What am I going to do with you, dear nephew? First, you boast for years that you are in the Dark Lord's favor to all your little insignificant friends, failed any task the Dark Lord has given you, rejected the only girl worth your blood, have rejected your way of life, and have gotten your aunt, my dear beloved wife, killed. Isn't that right, Drake? Yes, you have been reduced to a filthy Muggle name. Drake. It suits you well. And I must say, as much of a waste of life your girlfriend is, she is a beauty. Astoria, isn't it? And her older sister is your age, right? Tsk tsk. Well, the point of all this, Drake, is that you are now at my command. Do anything that displeases me and Astoria will truly knows what it is like to be a filthy Mudblood. Remember, I'm watching you.

Rodolphus

Harry reread the noted. Why was Rodolphus going after his sister-in-law and his nephew? He understood why he was going after someone they cared about (Harry wasn't sure if Malfoy could 'love'): threaten themselves and they would willingly die; threaten someone they care about and they would comply. He looked up at Malfoy. He seemed to age in the time it took for Harry to read the note twice. If Harry could ever muster up any pity for this bastard, now would be the time. But he couldn't and didn't. He copied the note as he did with Andromeda's, handed the original back to Malfoy, and walked out of the office. Malfoy shouted something that Harry didn't hear. He heard an angry sigh and soft footsteps on the carpeted floor as Malfoy followed. All Harry had to do was follow the voice and…

"Kingsley!" The Minister of Magic turned around to face the two eighteen year old wizards weaving through the crowd towards him. "Kingsley, I need two safe houses or a way to counteract the spells Lestrange has on Andromeda and Draco."

"We can't figure out the spells he has set, Potter. We've been trying on Andromeda's since you told Tumny two weeks ago but we've hit a dead end, so to say. There is only one safe house left though. You'll hit a snag with its owner, unfortunately," Kingsley stated mysteriously. Harry was too wrapped up in his ideas on how to catch Lestrange that he didn't notice the big man's tone.

"Sure, sure, just tell me the address and I'm sure I'll be able to talk the owner into it. I mean, what normal person could refuse refuge for four people from a mad man?"

"Glad you think that way, Potter." Kinglsey clapped Harry on the back, almost knocking the thin man to the ground, "It's Number 12, Grimauld Place."

Harry stood agape for a moment as the information struck him. His house was the only safe house left for the Ministry? And since when was his house a safe house for the Ministry? He shook his head in disbelief.

"That's my house," Harry stated at the same time Draco did. They turned and scowled at each other.

"What do you mean it's 'your house', Malfoy? That's _MY _house! Sirius left it to me!" Harry's temper, and voice, grew with every second he spent with Malfoy. Malfoy raised his wand as he retorted.

"No, it's not, Pothead. Bella left it to me! It's my house!" The two glared at each other, wands raised, when Kingsley stepped in between them.

"Potter's right. It's his by law. Sirius, being the last heir of Black, was the only one eligible to assigned the house in his will to anyone unless he died before he wrote a will. Only then would Bellatrix be able to gain access to the house and all it's rights being Sirius' oldest and closest cousin. Sirius gave it to Harry so it is Harry's. If he dies before he draws up a magical will, then it will go to you, Malfoy. But only then," Kingsley gave Malfoy a stern look before continuing, "But if Harry is mysteriously murdered, the house goes to Ted Tonks, by proxy his grandmother Andromeda Tonks. Is that understood?" Malfoy answered with a steely glare and a sharp nod. "Good."

Harry and Malfoy made their way towards the exit when Kingsley shouted after them.

"Potter! Lose the robes! You and Weasley look dreadful!"


End file.
